FISHING AND HUNTING IN AMERICA: A NATIONAL SURVEY
Anyone who hasdodged bullets and dry flies in the forests and by the waters of America knowsfull well that a seasonal army is annually abroad in this country in search offish and game. But just how many? Where do they come from and who are they? Andhow much money and time do they spend in the crowded wilderness? Now for thefirst time an impartial study employing modern sampling methods has beenreleased, which answers these questions. At the direction of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service, Crossley, S-D Surveys, Inc. of New York sent field workersinto some 20,000 homes, where they interviewed 6,220 individuals from 12 yearsof age on up who fished in 1955 and 3,108 who hunted. SPORTS ILLUSTRATEDpresents highlights of their results below and on the following pages.
A SPORTING ARMYOF 24,917,000 INDIVIDUALS TOOK TO THE WOODS AND WATERS OF AMERICA IN 1955
13,133,000
4,104,000
BOTH: 7,680,000
FISHING
NUMBER OFFISHERMEN 20,813,000
SALT WATER4,557,000
FRESH WATER 18,420,000
MEN:12,938,000
WOMEN: 4,689,000
In addition to the number of men and women 18 years of age and older, 3,186,000minors also fished during 1955
TOTALEXPENDITURES $1,914,292,000
$92 PER PERSON
SALT WATER$488,939,000
An average outlay of $107.29 per person
FRESH WATER$1,425,353,000
An average outlay of $77.38 per person
WHAT THEEQUIPMENT COST
SPECIFIC$243,626,000
Tackle: rods, reels, creels, nets, etc.
GENERAL$550,037,000
Clothing, sleeping bags, tents, etc.
TRIPS AND OTHEREXPENSES
FOOD$106,101,000
LODGING $73,080,000
AUTOMOBILETRANSPORTATION $271,827,000
Including gas, oil and maintenance
OTHER EXPENSES$72,921,000
Magazines, dues, etc.
Leases and privileges
License fees
HUNTING
NUMBER OF HUNTERS11,784,000
BIG GAME4,414,000
SMALL GAME 9,822,000
WATERFOWL 1,986,000
MEN: 9,675,000
WOMEN: 418,000
In addition to the number of men and women 18 years of age and older, 1,691,000minors also hunted during 1955
TOTALEXPENDITURES $936,687,000
$79 PER PERSON
BIG GAME$323,909,000
An average outlay of $73.39 per person
SMALL GAME$494,033,000
An average outlay of $50.30 per person
WHAT THEEQUIPMENT COST
SPECIFIC$350,958,000
Rifles, ammunition, decoys, etc.
GENERAL$137,671,000
Clothing, sleeping bags, tents, etc.
TRIPS AND OTHEREXPENSES
FOOD$38,486,000
LODGING $15,871,000
AUTOMOBILETRANSPORTATION $93,972,000
Including gas, oil and maintenance
OTHER EXPENSES$196,972,000
Magazines, dues, etc.
Leases and privileges
Licenses
TRAVEL
FISHERMEN
SALT WATER 1.2billion miles
FRESH WATER 6.5 billion miles
TOTAL 7.7 BILLION MILES
HUNTERS
BIG GAME 1billion miles
SMALL GAME 1.4 billion miles
WATERFOWL .3 billion miles
TOTAL 2.7 BILLION MILES
GRAND TOTAL: 10.4BILLION MILES
MISCELLANEOUSDATA
•The surveyshowed that 31.6% of all fishermen and 20.7% of all hunters took trips of morethan one day. The typical fisherman traveled 319 miles, and the typical hunter206 miles.
•Of the estimated48,389,000 households in the U.S., 16,848,000 had either a hunter or fishermanor both. Bearing in mind that many persons engaged in both sports, it was foundthat one of every three households had at least one hunter or fisherman, one ofevery four had at least one fisherman and one of every five at least onehunter.
•A total of566,870,000 man-days was spent in hunting and fishing, of which 397,447,000were spent in fishing and 169,423,000 in hunting.
[This articlecontains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
TOTAL LENGTH OF EACH BAR REPRESENTS FISHING
MAP
GEOGRAPHICAL BREAKDOWN OF HUNTERS AND FISHERMEN
FISHING
17%
25%
26%
22%
21%
18%
20%
11%
13%
MAP
[See caption above.]
HUNTING
8%
18%
17%
11%
10%
12%
10%
6%
7%
THIRTY NINE ILLUSTRATIONS
PHOTO
CHART
TOTAL LENGHT OF EACH BAR PEPRESENTS FISHING